Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Hedgehug's second holiday-themed outing, after 2011's Hedgehug: A Lesson in Love, he doesn't have a costume for the big Halloween party. A ghost outfit makes him look like a slice of Swiss cheese, and when he dresses as a bunch of grapes, the purple balloons pop on his quills. But just as a despairing Hedgehug leaves the party, his friends surprise him with a costume that is just right. Pinto crafts a visually enigmatic woodland world of looming shadows and fluorescent backlight, with burlap textures adding warmth and dimension. A simple but satisfying tale of Halloween ups and downs. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Hedgehug the hedgehog inadvertently destroys every Halloween costume he attempts to wear. What isn't clear to the reader until book's end--when a self-satisfied Hedgehug ingeniously wears green, which, combined with his quills, makes him resemble a cactus--is that his spikes were what wrecked his earlier costumes; Pinto doesn't make the quills visible in the otherwise satisfying, textured illustrations. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An adorable hedgehog forgets about the upcoming Halloween party. Now the day is here, and he has no costume to wear. Thank goodness he's got a determined and creative trio of friends to help him out. Pinto and Sutton (Hedgehug: A Sharp Lesson in Love, 2011) tackle a topic that is all too familiar--what to wear? Hannah the armadillo is the first on the scene to help her friend. When he "slip[s] his costume carefully over his head" and yells, "Boooooo!" a terrible rip turns Hedgehug the ghost into a wedge of Swiss cheese. Edie the owl uses purple balloons and a few leaves to turn Hedgehug into a bunch of grapesbefore they all pop. Doris the rabbit snips and clips fabric for a mummy costume, but he trips when he tries to walk. With his hopes of attending the party unraveling, he begins to return home. But on his way, he notices that "something [is] following him." He nervously turns to the shadowy figure only to find out it is his friends who have thought up "the perfect costume"--a cactus! The vividly hued illustrations, created in part by textured collage, nicely complement the urgent dialogue propelling the story, while the spunky earnestness that shines through the simple features of the characters and the energy captured in their silhouettes are endearing. A Halloween story that's more cozy than creepy. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
